Collaboration

            In the past Susan Carter ran a typical classroom where the focus was on whether the students were “getting it” or not. Carter would not move on to new concepts before she felt that every student in the class had mastered the old ones. She was known for stopping lessons when she felt that her students were getting frustrated, stressed or unhappy about the material being studied. Carter would then pull out meaningless worksheets for her students to work on instead. In other words, she would stop focusing on math that was meaningful to work on tasks that all her students could successfully complete at various levels.

            Susan Carter’s teaching approach changed after attending a workshop where the professor challenged the students to not only find the answers to difficult mathematical problems; but to explore the various processes by which the problem may be solved. This she discovered leads to a deeper understanding and the concepts being learned become meaningful. She then brought the concept that there needs to be a struggle in learning back to her classroom.

            From that moment on, Susan Carter changed the whole focus of her classroom from comfort to confusion. At first the sound of that might be a cause of concern. Carter helped her students understand that being confused is a good thing. When they are confused it means that they are about to learn something new as long as they just keep struggling to understand. Susan Carter no longer waits for every student to fully “get it” before moving on to new concepts.  She constantly keeps her students in a state of disequilibrium by mingling in new concepts with the old ones that some of the students are just starting to figuring. Her motto is, “If you are not struggling, you are not learning.”

          I agree with Susan Carters philosophy.  It just makes sense. If you are not struggling to learn something then it means that you already know it. As teachers we need to create a constant battle of minds in our classroom. This process will be made easier if we can put it into the learners control. Let the students direct their learning. Children are naturally inquisitive. Their will to want to understand will lead them to search for answers if they are provided with support through scaffolding. Teachers can model these behaviors by admitting that they do not know everything and then by searching to find the answer. The students will not feel so frustrated and give up because they will feel secure and realize that it is all just apart of the way we all learn.

         As educators need to practice what we preach. If we want students to use tools and strategies then we need to fully immerse ourselves into them first.

If we do not practice collaboration we will not fully understand the processes that the students undergo in a collaborative project. To be able to develop a well rounded, complete collaborative experience we have to of been in the students place. Otherwise we will never be able to accomplish a student centered atmosphere. Being able to work technological tools is one thing, but being able to apply them affectingly into classroom situations is another.